Gutaoci Restoration Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In the late Qing, Shanghai became the country's largest commercial port and economic center as well as its largest artwork distribution hub; antique shops of every kind sprang up everywhere, and the modern ancient ceramic restoration craft thus gradually developed and was transmitted. The modern ancient ceramic restoration craft was born in the early years of the Republic of China.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The ancient ceramic restoration craft is one of the representative traditional restoration crafts with a long history in our country. Shanghai's ancient ceramic restoration craft takes Shanghai Municipality as its core area and radiates to surrounding regions. Shanghai is located in the east of our country, with a favorable geographic position. In the filling-and-matching step, a filler must be tailored to match the body color and texture similar to those of the original object. During the coloring process, the filled-in parts must be painted with patterns that accord with the original object, while also imitating the luster and texture of its glaze, so that the restored part becomes one with the original, achieving a 'broken mirror made whole' effect that meets the requirements of display and collection. The ancient ceramic restoration craft developed on the basis of the profound Chinese ceramic culture and the appreciative tastes and interests of scholars and connoisseurs. Its exquisite craftsmanship interprets the craftsmanship spirit and creativity of the Chinese nation, and its unique perfect-restoration technique manifests people's pursuit of the complete beauty of ancient ceramics.
Documented Process Records
In the filling-and-matching step, a filler must be tailored to match the body color and texture similar to those of the original object.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This craft is mainly divided into five major steps—cleaning, bonding, filling, polishing, and coloring—and its difficulty lies in the filling part, which requires that the color and texture after coloring match the original object and achieve an integrated, seamless effect.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Gutaoci Restoration Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
At present, this craft has been inherited and developed at the Shanghai Museum. The value of the ancient ceramic restoration craft lies in its ability to restore damaged ceramics to their original appearance and features, realizing their functions of reuse, re-display, and re-research. With the social upheaval of the late Qing, collecting and reselling ancient ceramics became a trend; antique dealers secretly hired restoration artisans to repair ceramics, and the ancient ceramic restoration craft became a livelihood skill transmitted in the master-apprentice form. Rao Hongfa, the first-generation transmitter of the Shanghai Museum's ancient ceramic restoration craft, was the preeminent master of his time; the craft has now been transmitted to the fifth generation. Over the years, several generations of inheritors have completed the restoration of thousands of ancient ceramic relics, and while transmitting the traditional restoration craft they have actively explored new materials and new techniques, and at the same time promoted the craft's transmission and development through lectures, exhibitions, training, and other forms. This craft can protect and restore damaged ancient ceramics handed down from antiquity to the present, enabling the restored ceramics to be studied, exhibited, and collected, and playing an extremely important role in the transmission and flourishing of Chinese ceramic culture.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Jiang Daoyin 05-2897
- Yang Yun
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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